Just got off the phone with editors from Chinese publishing house Imaginist. Loveliest people ever; very internationally connected. But even they were hoping to sell short-story collections by their favored Chinese authors.
Conversation
Here we stand in the middle, explaining to one side that the best of contemporary Chinese fiction is short-form; explaining to the other side that no one will publish a short-story collection in translation, come hell nor high water.
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And (Sanmao), (Queer Taiwan fiction), or (Can Xue), or (Xu Xiaobin)? I get what you’re saying but are publishers gradually softening on this??
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I'd call only 2 of those short story collections. The odd collection gets published, but when short stories make up some of the strongest writing in a language, it's disappointing that a publisher will only take on a collection if there's the promise of a novel as well...
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I agree of course that it’s frustrating. Which ones don’t count, for interest?
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The Sanmao and the Camphor Press -- a "memoir" and an anthology is how I see them. They feel very different from a single author fiction collection
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Oh I didn’t realise you meant single author collections only (Comma and Two Lines do anthologies too, so assumed you meant any short stories). I do get it, just that I think there are lots more short stories available nowadays in English - thanks of course in large part to PR!
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That was Eric who posted. I think anthologies have more chance of publication because the publisher has agency over the theme and which works are included, more so than with single author collections anyway. There is an impression they can guarantee more strong stories that way
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Yup, that was me. I think Frances' other examples – Can Xue and Xu Xiaobin – sort of prove the rule: those authors have been published by those publishers for quite a while, and are already "established" in their own way. Launching a new writer via collection is incredibly hard.
Not that it doesn't happen! But as a path to renown and riches for a publisher or agent, it's a bust.
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"it's a bust" -- at least that's the assumption. Does it have to be though?
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